The present invention in the field of telephony communication over dedicated and shared networks including wireless networks, and pertains more particularly to methods and apparatus for integrating wireless application protocol (WAP)-compliant communication devices to communication center routing and service functions.
As Computer Integrated Telephony (CIT) systems become more sophisticated, and multimedia communication becomes more pervasive, increasingly sophisticated call centers are being developed wherein multimedia communication of many sorts is used by agents in addition to conventional telephony techniques. Companies are developing multimedia communication methods and are beginning to integrate these methods within the call center environment. These developments have produced a new breed of multimedia agent to handle communication with the aid of advanced software-communications programs. Agents within call centers who once handled only telephone communications are now required to handle a variety of communications such as, but not limited to E-mail, Video mail, Video calls, and data network calls such as Internet protocol telephony (IPT) calls.
A multimedia agent for purposes of this specification is an agent in a call center charged with handling various communications transactions, and who has access to multi-communication mediums, hence, the term multimedia. A multimedia agent may work in a call center set up for technical service, sales, management, or for any other purpose for which call centers are used.
As described above, many of the newer mediums of communication that may be employed by a multimedia agent involve some type of computer integration. In such call centers agents are typically provided with computerized workstations, including a computer, which may be a personal computer, and a video display unit, hereinafter PC/VDU. In such call centers known to the present inventor, the agents"" PC/VDUs are interconnected on a local area network (LAN), which may also connect to one or more processors in turn connected to a telephony switch to which the agents telephones are connected. Through sophisticated computer techniques integrated with the requisite hardware, multimedia capability for the agents is achieved.
A multimedia agent working in a call center such as described above is assigned to a workstation as described, and the workstation, together with software accessible on the LAN presents graphic user interfaces (GUIs) for displaying information relating to each communication transaction handled by that particular agent. For example, along with normal phone capabilities, the agent may be capable of sending and receiving E-mail, Video mail, and the like. Video conferencing may also be a part of an agent""s transaction protocol. Similarly, a caller to such an agent may have a PC connected on-line, or to a network accessible to the agents, and thus be enabled to send and receive E-mail, video calls, or any other multimedia communication that the agent may host. As well, callers may be accessing the agent from a normal analog telephone where only voice mail capabilities and conventional telephony audio services are utilized.
Call routing to and within call centers involves computerized platforms and software dedicated to directing a caller to an appropriate agent for the purpose of fulfilling the purpose of the caller. Such routing is known to the present inventor as agent-level call routing. Routing of calls, then, may be on several levels. Pre-routing may be done at Service Control Points (SCPs) and further routing may be, and typically is, accomplished at individual call centers. A call center typically involves a central switch, which may be, for example, a Private Branch Exchange (PBX), or PSTN switch. The central switch is connected to the public-switched telephone network (PSTN), as is well-known in the art. Agents, trained to handle customer service, occupy agent stations connected by telephone lines to the central switch, and connected in this example to file servers and the like on a LAN. In more advanced call centers, more appropriately termed communication centers, callers may be practicing data network telephony (DNT) wherein an IP router is provided within the communication center and functions much like a central telephony switch. IP calls are routed to agents PC""s or DNT capable telephones using rules similar to connection oriented switched telephony (COST).
As described above, multimedia communication methods are emerging as applicable methods of communication within call centers. For example, E-mail programs, video calls, IPT calls, and the like can be utilized by agents in addition to voice mail and more conventional connection. In some cases agents are also connected to the Internet for purposes of communicating with other agents, accessing additional information not hosted in the call center, or even for the purpose of contacting or responding to Internet-sourced inquiries. It is to such multimedia-capable communication centers that the present invention is addressed.
An emerging technology known in the art as wireless application protocol (WAP) has been developed for the purpose of enabling users operating certain wireless communication devices to access and interact with the well-known Internet network or other DPN""s in a more optimized fashion. WAP protocol is a joint development of a consortium of companies representing the arts of telephony, Internet access, wireless communication, and device manufacture. The purpose is to facilitate small, wireless communication devices such as a cell-phones, hand-held computers like the Palm Pilot(trademark), paging devices, or other such devices to interact with the Internet network, through proxy in most cases, and to download data that is maximized for use on the specific requesting device.
Data that is delivered from the Internet over a wireless network to WAP-compliant devices by WAP protocol may be presented in a variety of device and network-specific formats designed to optimize functionality over the relatively low bandwidth connections typical of wireless networks. For example, micro WEB-browsers are employed in WAP-compliant devices wherein special versions of hypertext markup-language (HTML), which are known in the art and understood by the browser may be used to provide optimum data-access capabilities and data-display modes according to device-specific rules and parameters. One of these protocols is WML. These sub-protocols are included into WAP protocol as a whole to produce a standardized application, which is periodically expanded with development of new communication protocols and integration of new types of devices and wireless network technologies.
WAP is designed in part for enhancing multi-media communication between devices operating on wireless telephony networks and sources of information stored on Internet-connected servers, an Intranet, or other data-packet-networks (DPN). The inventor has discovered that there is currently no method or apparatus for integrating WAP functionality with communication center routing and data service functions.
What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus that allows a seamless and enhanced integration between users operating WAP-compliant devices and communication centers connected to or affiliated with data-network-based services whereby additional information about users may be passed to such service centers for improved routing. Such integration would allow a user to receive personalized customer care from a live agent within a communication center in relation to a user-initiated WAP transaction, in many cases, during transaction of such services.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention an Internet-connected wireless access protocol service provider (WAP-SP) is provided, comprising a wireless communication interface for communicating with a WAP-enabled appliance; a telephony communication interface; and a software suite. The WAP-SP is characterized in that the software suite presents an interface to a user at the WAP-enabled appliance, enabling the user to initiate a call, and then routes the call according to pre-programmed rules in response to the user initiation.
In one embodiment the telephony interface is an Internet connection, and the calls placed and routed are IPNT calls in the Internet. In another there is a connection-oriented switched-telephony (COST) trunk line into a public-switched telephony network (PSTN), and the calls placed and routed as calls in the PSTN.
In a preferred embodiment there is a data repository wherein user data is stored, and, in placing calls, data associated to the user initiating the call is retrieved and sent along with the call. In some embodiments there is CTI link and a CTI processor connected to the CTI link, and at least the routing portions of the software execute on the CTI processor. The CTI processor may comprise a separate data network link other than the telephony communication interface, the separate link to at least one call destination for routing telephony calls initiated by the user.
In another aspect of the invention a system for routing telephony calls initiated by a user of a wireless application protocol (WAP)-enabled device is provided, comprising a software-enhanced WAP service provider (WAP-SP) connected to the Internet, connected by WAP protocol to the WAP-enabled device, and connected to a telephony network; an Internet-connected server hosted by an enterprise; and a call center connected to the telephony network and hosted by the enterprise. The system is characterized in that the WAP-SP, by virtue of the software enhancement, enables the user to request a telephony connection to the call center, and routes the requested call via the telephony network to the call center.
In some cases of the system the telephony network is the Internet, the calls routed are Internet-protocol network telephony (IPNT) calls, and the call-center is enabled to handle IPNT calls. In some other cases the telephony network is a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the call center is enabled to handle PSTN calls. In still other cases both networks are available for routing calls.
In some embodiments of the system the call center comprises a telephony switch connected to a first CTI processor, the WAP-SP is connected to a second CTI processor, the WAP-SP is connected to a public-switched telephone (PSTN) network having a network level switch, and the first and second CTI processors are connected by a dedicated data link separate from any telephony connection. Data associated with the user may be transferred over the dedicated data link to the call center parallel to a call routed via the telephony network.
In some embodiments there may be a third CTI processor connected to the network-level switch, wherein the three CTI processors are interconnected by the dedicated data link. In some of these embodiments the call center further comprises an IPNT data router connected to the Internet for routing IPNT calls to agent stations, and the IPNT data router is connected to a fourth CTI processor interconnected with the first, second and third data routers by the dedicated data link.
In another aspect of the invention a method for placing a telephony call by a user of a WAP-enabled appliance to a call center hosted by a host of a WEB service is provided, comprising steps of (a) connecting to a hosted WEB service by the WAP-enabled appliance through a wireless-application protocol service provider (WAP-SP); (b) initiating a call by the user at the WAP-enabled appliance through an interface provided by the WAP-SP; and (c) placing the call to a call center hosted by the host of the Web service through a telephony network connected to the WAP-SP.
In some embodiments of the method, in step (c) the telephony network is the Internet, and calls placed are Internet Protocol Network Telephony calls. In other embodiments the telephony network is a connection-oriented switched-telephony (COST) network, and the calls placed and routed are calls in the COST network.
In further embodiments of the method a step (d) is provided for retrieving data associated with the user from a data store accessible to the WAP-SP, and for forwarding the data with the call. In some embodiments there is a CTI processor connected by a CTI link to the WAP-SP, and at least some telephony functions are provided by software executing on the CTI processor. The CTI processor may have a separate data network link, other than the telephony network, to a CTI processor at the call center, and a step (d) is provided for retrieving data associated with the user from a data store accessible to the WAP-SP, and forwarding the data with the call over the separate data network link.
In embodiments of the present invention, taught in enabling detail below, for the first time, users of WAP-enabled devices, communicating with Web sites through a WAP service provider, are enabled to place telephone calls to agents of the host of the Web site.